HEARD OVER THE WIRE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 20716, 8 November 1930, Page 2 (Supplement)

HEARD OVER THE WIRE.

" HELLO " IN CHINESE. WORLD'S TELEPHONE TERMS. In London it is, " Are you there?" In Paris, " J'ecoute," In China, " Day huey bin she ah ?" In Berlin, " Bitte, Numiner." In San Francisco, " Number, please ?" She is a " telephonist " in London; just "mademoiselle" in Paris; " hom sin luey " in China; and in Ber-' lin and San Francisco, " operator." Thus do world telephone terms vary. Translations of the foreign terms are as follows: J'ecoute, "I am listening";

Bitte, Nummcr, "Please number"; Day huey bin she ah, " What place do you wish to cull?"; Horn sin lucy, "A telephone girl." A better term for operator in Chinese is " Din wax sin gay sum, ' or " Someone who answers the telephone and takes care of connecting you." In Italy the operator says " pronto," or ready. " J'ccoute " is used also in Belgium. In both France and Belgium the operators sometimes say, " Hello," a term officially discarded in America. In Japan she is " denwa kokanshu," or " telephone operator," and she says, " Moshi, moshi, nariban, desuka," or " Hollo, hello, number please." In Denmark and Norway she is " telefondame," or • " telephone lady," and she says, " Central, a term once used in America In Sweden she is " telefonisl." Amsterdam knows her as " telefonnyufiouw," and she says, "Uw nummcr?" or Your numbor ?"